Gamma Ray Bursts Prospects For Glast

This volume contains the proceedings from a symposium on gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) held in Stockholm, Sweden, in September 2006. All papers have been peer reviewed. The gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is an international mission dedicated to observations of high-energy gamma-rays and is planned to be launched by the end of 2007.

On May 18-21, 2004, the Max-Planck-Society’s Harnack-Haus in Dahlem, Berlin hosted the international symposium "Exploring the Cosmic Frontier: Astrophysical Instruments for the 21st Century". The symposium was dedicated to exploring the complementarity and synergies between different branches of astrophysical research, by presenting and discussing the fundamental scientific problems that will be addressed in the next few decades.

The GLAST Symposia provide a forum for the exchange of information across a broad range of scientific investigations. GLAST, NASA's new gamma-ray observatory, opens a new window into the universe. GLAST data will enable scientists to answer questions that arise within a broad range of topics, including super massive black hole systems, pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, the origin of cosmic rays, and searches for signals of new physics.

The formation of galaxies is one of the greatest puzzles in astronomy, the solution is shrouded in the depths of space and time, but has profound implications for the universe we observe today. This book discusses the beginnings of the process from cosmological observations and calculations. It examines the different theories of galaxy formation and shows where each theory either succeeds or fails in explaining what we actually observe. In addition, the book looks ahead to what we may expect to uncover about the epoch of galaxy formation from the new and upcoming generations of telescopes and technology.

Abstract Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous transient events in the observed Universe. However, there is no direct observational evidence for what exactly drives a GRB. The most widely accepted model for these cosmic events is the fireball model where it is thought that a substantial fraction of the kinetic energy of the source is converted to gamma-radiation by shock accelerated electrons emitting synchrotron and inverse-Compton radiation. The acceleration of protons in the gamma-ray emitting region of the GRB has been hypothesized as well. In this hadronic acceleration model, it is predicted that protons may interact with gamma-ray photons to produce a burst of neutrinos at energy ∼10^14 eV during prompt emission and energy ∼10^18 eV during afterglow emission. Several experimental searches for these high energy neutrinos have been conducted and no GRB neutrinos have yet been found. The analytical prediction for neutrino flux has been replaced with a more thorough numerical prediction for neutrino flux. The neutron model of GRBs, where only neutrons can escape the GRB and reach Earth as cosmic rays, has been ruled out by the experimental work of IceCube and ANTARES. Upgraded versions of current experiments such as IceCube, ANTARES, ANITA and ARA, as well as new experiments such as KM3NeT, are preparing to probe and further constrain the fireball paradigm of GRB neutrino production. This review includes: Introduction Early theoretical predictions for neutrino fluences due to GRBs Overview of high energy neutrino experiments and related physics Experimental searches for high energy neutrinos from GRBs Prospects for detection of high energy neutrinos from GRBs High Energy Neutrinos from Gamma Ray Bursts: Theoretical Predictions, Experimental Searches, and Prospects for Detection was originally written as a review submitted for my Ph.D. candidacy paper on Nov 23, 2015. It has been edited for a "Short Read" on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing in Oct 2020. It is a public domain work. Special thanks to the Connolly group at Ohio State University (OSU) and the physics and astronomy departments at OSU. Moreover, I am grateful for the contribution of each and every scientist and author listed in the "References" section of this review. This review would not be possible without their published science and hard work. Please let me know if you find any mistakes or problems, I will fix it. My email is [email protected]. I am happy for this to be a living document. I am anxious to improve it but feel that it needs to be out at this point before that can happen.

This white paper identifies the main issues and major recommendations for German astronomical research. Their implementation will require initiative from all partners and will allow German astronomers and astrophysicists to continuously play a leading role in their field.